With rain in the forecast this Friday, Inauguration Day is likely to run not too far above average on both the precipitation and temperature front. Naturally we have to ask, how does Inauguration normally fair? As we dig back in time, an interesting mix of weather is revealed on this day despite being in the heart of meteorological winter.
To give a little background info, Inauguration Day is typically held on January 20th after each election year according to the constitution. This has been the tradition since the Inauguration of President Franklin Roosevelt in 1937. Before this, Inauguration Day was held on March 4th with outdoor ceremonies going all the way back to 1817 with President James Monroe (official weather records though only go back until 1871).
While the normal high for Washington D.C. sits at 43 degrees, temperatures around noon (when the president is sworn) are typically near 36 degrees. Precipitation averages at almost a tenth of an inch with 0.2 inches of snowfall. Despite this climatic average, the president appears to bear some weather extremes.
Overall, snowfall seems to be hard to come by on January 20th. Only a handful of years experienced light snow actually falling either before or during the ceremony with little issue. The only inauguration where snow caused serious problems was President John F. Kennedy’s in 1961 when 8 inches of snow fell the night before, leading to hasty overnight cleanups and a cold but windy day with bitter temperatures struggling to hit a 25 degree high. Another significant winter storm dropped nearly 10 inches on President William H. Taft’s inauguration although this was on March 4, 1909. Strong winds led to heavy drifting and brought the city to a standstill. To try Taft’s patience, the snow only lasted until mid-day with a noontime temperature at freezing, stopping not too long after he was sworn in!
Snowy scene during William Taft's Inauguration on March 4, 1909.
Although sunny, President Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration in 1985 marked the coldest January date when the noon temperature sat at 7 degrees with highs barely hitting 17 degrees, forcing the ceremony indoors and causing the inaugural parade to be cancelled. The coldest March day goes to President Ulysses Grant for his second inauguration in 1873, with a record low at just 4 degrees that morning, only to rise near 16 degrees by 12 PM. Wind chills were well below zero due to blustery wind gusts up to 40 mph! One could only imagine how officials felt standing on The National Mall that day, some of who apparently did not even have overcoats on.
The most dramatic result of weather impacting an inauguration was President William Henry Harrison in 1841 who gave the longest speech, lasting an hour and 40 minutes on a cloudy, cool, and breezy day. With the combination of not dressing properly, it is believed he developed a cold during the following weeks that then spiraled into pneumonia, causing his death exactly a month after being sworn in.
Getting away from the winter records, Inauguration’s have also been very wet with even unseasonably warm weather. Although the warmest day for any January 20th is set at 70 degrees in 1951, the inaugural record goes to President Ronald Reagan’s first inauguration when it hit 55 degrees by 12 PM in 1981 (President Gerald Ford technically beats him in 1974 at 89 degrees but this was an off-day on August 9). President Franklin Roosevelt in 1937 experienced a washout with a record 1.77 inches falling on his ceremony (lead image at the top). A morning wintry mix was followed by a cold rain at 33 degrees by noontime before rising near 40 degrees late. Despite that, the president still insisted on continuing with the inaugural parade!
Luckily, it doesn’t look like this Inauguration will feature any extreme weather and if anything, looks to be fairly close to normal given the climatology. Do bring your umbrellas if you plan on attending though!
Sources: National Weather Service http://www.weather.gov/lwx/events_Inauguration, Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies http://www.inaugural.senate.gov/about/past-inaugural-ceremonies
